1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to applications pertaining to information retrieval devices (IRD's) connected to the Internet. More specifically, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for anticipating a user's desired information and delivering this information to the user through an IRD device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA).
2. Description of Related Art
Computers are currently being used as electronic encyclopedias, with searches becoming increasingly sophisticated and with larger amounts of data being available to the user. Computers suitable for performing such tasks are referred to herein as information retrieval devices (IRD's). A highly portable and particularly useful embodiment of an IRD is represented by personal digital assistants (PDA's). However, IRD's remain unable to perform even the most basic task of anticipating the needs of the user and gathering information related to those needs without the user having to enter such needs.
The market for IRD's has become increasingly popular over the past few years. For style-conscious users looking for the latest in electronic organization, PDA's are an attractive option because of their ability to provide users with a plethora of computing functions in a small, portable device. A PDA is defined here as a handheld device that performs various computing functions for the user. In this respect, a PDA is often referred to as a handheld personal computer, capable of performing such tasks as an address book, notepad, appointments diary, and phone list. With the growth of PDA technology, however, these capabilities began to include more demanding applications such as spreadsheets, word processors, databases, financial management software, and games. Today, the emergence of wireless web technology has provided PDA manufacturers with the additional feature of accessing the Internet to market their respective products.
It should be appreciated that the Internet is defined here as a collection of interconnected (public and/or private) networks linked together by a set of standard protocols (such as TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed network. While this term is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass variations which may be made in the future, including changes and additions to existing standard protocols.
Although the ability to retrieve information from the Internet using PDA devices is generally known in the art, an automated procedure for retrieving anticipated information generated according to sensory data taken from the PDA does not exist. It would thus be advantageous to implement a method and apparatus which anticipates a user's desired information and delivers this information directly to the user through a PDA device.